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| Posted: 16 Feb 2015 12:01 AM PST  "City War" Chinese Theatrical Poster Director: Sun Chung By HKFanatic City War will likely always hold a fascination for Hong Kong movie buffs, as it’s a vintage heroic bloodshed films featuring the fan favorite pairing of Chow Yun Fat and Ti Lung, reunited just two years after A Better Tomorrow II. If only City War could live up the hype and expectation that will no doubt surround it upon first viewing. But the truth is that the movie is just not very good. Like many Hong Kong films of its era, the tone of City War is wildly uneven. The first hour or so of the movie bounces back and forth from frivolous comedy to steamy romance, as Chow Yun Fat grins and dances his way through the script as a young but high ranking cop with a thing for the ladies. Ti Ling merely smolders with rage in the background, hissing through clenched teeth about injustice in the system and how Hong Kong has gone to the dogs, AKA the Triads. Their somewhat happy co-existence is shattered when a top Triad gangster (played by a scene-stealing Norman Chu) gets out of prison after a 10 year stint and sets his sights on our heroes. From there, the script dovetails out of nowhere into pitch-black tragedy. By the end nobody’s smiling for the camera and City War wants us to take it very seriously. The story predictably builds to a climactic shoot-out in a warehouse-like location, which would be all well and good except that the action choreography ends up being a disappointment. City War was directed by Shaw Brothers veteran Chung Sun (The Avenging Eagle). This was Sun’s one attempt at making a more contemporary kind of Hong Kong film towards the end of his career but unfortunately he doesn’t seem particularly adept at handling blood-spurting action. Plenty of bad guys are riddled with bullet holes but the staging lacks the style and ‘oomph’ of a filmmaker like John Woo. The ending battle would have benefited from the kinetic flair, judicious use of slow motion, and respect for spacial choreography that Woo displays in his finest works. In comparison, the action in City War comes across as choppy and overly edited. Another Chow Yun Fat film - Tiger on Beat – at least went for broke with its ending by embracing madcap, chainsaw-swinging physicality. A limp ending might not be such a disappointment if the rest of City War gave us a reason to care. But the script seems written on the fly, Ti Lung is sadly underutilized, and Chow Yun Fat’s natural charisma is almost wasted in a role where he has nothing much to do but romance a gangster’s girl until it’s time to get revenge. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been eager to view this film just to witness an ’89 pistol opera pairing of Chow Yun Fat and Ti Lung. Sadly, the movie I pictured in my mind was a lot more entertaining than this. There are plenty of similar titles I can recommend viewing over this (Tragic Hero, Dragon Family, even Flaming Brothers). I’d only suggest making time for City War once you reach the bottom of your ‘heroic bloodshed’ checklist. Come on, I know you’ve got one. HKFanatic’s Rating: 6/10 |
| Transporter: Series Season 1 | DVD (Fox) Posted: 16 Feb 2015 12:00 AM PST  Transporter: Series Season 1 | DVD (Fox) RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2015 Fox presents the DVD for Transporter: Series Season 1, based on the popular Jason Statham franchise of the same name. The series stars Chris Vance, Andrea Osvárt and François Berléand. Frank (Vance) is the Transporter. He transports anything, anywhere, for anyone. A former British SAS operative, he is trained in driving, combat and survival skills. A man of determination and integrity, he always completes using three specific rules: Never change the deal. No Names. Never open the package. Watch the trailer. Pre-order Transporter: Series Season 1 from Amazon.com today! |
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